Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Katz announced that new assassination operations and evacuations could be carried out if kites sent from Gaza continue. The announcement came after kites described as being flown by children for entertainment in the Gaza Strip reached Israeli settlements.
Israeli media reported that in recent days some kites launched from Gaza had reached Israeli settlements around the Strip. No explosives were found in the kites.
New threats from the Israeli government
In a joint statement issued on Sunday, Netanyahu and Katz said assassination operations would be intensified against people identified as responsible for sending kites to Israel if the activity did not end immediately.
The joint statement also said residents of areas from which kites, drones and balloons were sent could be evacuated. Chief of the General Staff Eyal Zamir and senior military officials attended the assessment meeting.
Katz had previously instructed the army to respond immediately and forcefully to kites and balloons coming from Gaza. The defense minister had argued that balloons and kites, as well as kites and drones, should be treated under the same framework regardless of whether they carried explosives.
Four kites detected by the army
The Israeli army announced on Saturday that four kites had been found around the Nahal Oz settlement within approximately 24 hours. One was detected on Friday and three on Saturday morning.
The army said its examination found no suspicious substance in the kites and that they posed no danger to the public. The military statement said there was no information proving that the kites had been deliberately sent toward Israeli settlements.
Some residential areas in Gaza are located only a few kilometers from Israeli settlements around the Strip. Kites without motors or independent guidance systems can be carried by the wind when their strings break.
Hamas calls threats a pretext for attacks
The Israeli government's statements caused surprise and concern in Gaza. Some Palestinians mocked the threats, while others expressed concern that the statements could be used as a pretext for a possible military escalation.
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem responded on Sunday to the presentation of kites flown by displaced children in Gaza as a threat. Qassem said the statements were intended to justify the continuation of attacks and violations, and that the threats extended even to children in Gaza.
Qassem called for pressure to be exerted, together with the U.S. administration, on the mediating and guarantor countries and the Peace Council. The Hamas spokesperson called for the attacks to stop and for Gaza's ceasefire process not to be harmed.
Analyst: Statements became a subject of ridicule
Writer and political analyst Iyad al-Karra argued that Israel's statements about the kites could serve two purposes. Karra said the statement could signal an intention to resume wide-ranging airstrikes and could be aimed at domestic political consumption.
Karra said Israel's military and security circles had acknowledged that the kites posed no danger. The analyst argued that the statements aimed to divert the domestic agenda to other issues and avoid responsibility for implementing the ceasefire agreements in Gaza.
Arguing that Hamas had remained committed to the ceasefire agreement, Karra said no incident showing that the Palestinian side had violated the agreement had been recorded on the ground. Karra, who claimed that Israel violated the agreement every day, criticized the portrayal of kites flown by children as a threat.
Loss of life in Gaza
Gaza's Health Ministry announced that approximately 1,286 Palestinians had been killed and 4,257 injured by Saturday because of ceasefire violations.
According to the ministry's figures, the total death toll in the war on Gaza since October 2023 has risen to 73,420, while the number of injured has reached 174,369.
